


Gasoline

by the_three_trenchcoat_wearers



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Heaven vs Hell, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, POV Original Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-08
Updated: 2015-12-08
Packaged: 2018-05-05 16:54:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5383103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_three_trenchcoat_wearers/pseuds/the_three_trenchcoat_wearers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>ORIGINAL WORK: ORIGINALLY MADE AS MY FINAL FOR MY SENIOR YEAR CREATIVE WRITING CLASS. (Sorry if the summary is confusing, I don't know how to write one for this...)</p><p>What would you do if you were cast out of Heaven for asking a question that you thought was innocent?<br/>What would you do if you woke up in Hell and had no recollection of how you got there?<br/>What would you do if you met your salvation in Purgatory? A demon who takes control of a young man, walking him around, parading him to you?<br/>What would you do if you found an angel who was there to help you find your way to Heaven?<br/>What if everything that I just asked you were lies?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gasoline

**Author's Note:**

> This was the final I created for my Creative Writing class my senior year of high school. I got knocked some points because it was TOO long, and TOO descriptive. So... yeah. This, at the time, was one of my longest works (wow, what a difference nine months makes!) I went through and tried to edit this but I am sure I left some mistakes in there. Just, just let me know what you think about this. I want others to read it, I just didn't know that you could post original works here! So, yeah. enjoy!!
> 
> Oh, there are some hard to read scenes in here, like seizures, spit and choking, that kind of stuff. Just forewarning you.

Irel could still smell the burning-tar smell of his feathers. Even though they were long gone, he could still feel the pain of them being ripped from his body. He could hear the tear of his flesh and the laughter of the other angels as he plummeted to Earth, and then through to the second realm of Purgatory. He had been cast out for only asking one simple question, “Why can’t angels walk on Earth to help the humans?” But even being a young angel didn’t always have it’s advantages in Heaven. Since being tossed from the Kingdom, he had been searching through Purgatory in search of a way to regain his wings. He had found ways to Heaven- simple portals- but they always burned his skin when he touched them, smoke swirling from where his skin had made contact. His body was covered in pink scars and patterns of scorch marks.  And each time he found a new way, old scars would heal and new ones would reappear. That part was his punishment, never being able to touch something holy. That is until the angel Gabrael spoke out to him one day as he traveled. His vision went white and his body froze in place, and even though he couldn’t see it, he could feel heat emanating from every pore in his body.

_“Irel, Father has seen your arrogance as nothing more than curiosity, however disgraceful of a question it was. He has told me to relay the message to you that you are to be granted back into His Kingdom, so long as you bring with you a wayward soul to be saved. You must bring to the gates of Heaven an innocent soul from the clutches of the first fallen.”_

_“Gabrael, do you mean to tell me that I must release an innocent person from Hell and bring them to Father to be reconciled for their sins?”_

_“Yes Irel. You don’t have much time as Father is impatient with you as it is.”_ His powerful voice echoed through his ears- his body only visible to those who haven’t disgraced Father. But Irel took the only chance he would ever get to return to Heaven and return to walking through the dark.

His searches eventually brought him to a crossroads of a large, murky river that stank of stale blood, and an excessively large tree comprised of three large trunks. His legs shook and his muscles ached at having been used too much when he could have normally used his wings to get everywhere. He dropped his hands to his knees and took in a deep breath, trying to sort out the disgusting smell from the air. He raised his head to the sound of a large crash before him. Standing there between the river and the tree was a beautiful man. His ebony hair shone brightly against the faded background. His shoulders were wide and strong. His arms well muscled and his long frame was dressed in dark blue jeans that were slung low on his narrow hips and a red shirt that seemed to shine and move… as if pulsing. Irel stood taller and slowly moved closer towards him, his leather clad feet brushing softly along the old fallen leaves. A single leaf popped as he stepped on it and his green eyes snapped up in shock at the noise. But the hackles on the back of his neck only rose in complete fear when the man before him turned his head, then his body towards him. His eyes were black. No white, nothing colored… just black. His red shirt was shiny due to the fresh blood that dripped from an invisible gash on his right temple, Ierl steeled himself as those eyes raked up his body. His white robes that were lank and dirty from the mud, his once golden hair that was now dusted a brown color. And his heart literally stopped beating when the man offered him a smile. Predatory. Blood-thirsty. His tanned skin glistened with sweat.

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His eyes shot open. He sucked in a breath, but it was filled with dust. He blinked. He listened. Nothing. No sound. No sight. Wait. _What was that?_ A… scream. Soft. Faint. But a scream. A female scream. Gone. It was quiet again. He didn’t like the quiet. It was deafening. Was he cold? _No._ Hot? _More cold than hot._ Something hard on his back. He could see outlines noe. Four walls. One was steel bars. Red light. Low light. Dim. He blinked again. _Better._ He sat up. Dizzy. He rubbed his head. _Hurts._ He shook his head. _Ouch._ Breathe. Dust. He coughed quietly. Cough- cough-cough-cough. He swung his legs around. _Table? bed?_ His feet touched the floor. Bed. ‘Bed’. He moved his arms. Sore. He stood. Still dizzy. Still upright. He wandered to the bars. Hung his hand through. The bars were cold. Another scream. Across the aisle was another set of bars. Jail? _Not again._ No guards. _Not jail._

“Psst. Anyone there?”

“What?”

“Where are we?”

“Dumbass.”

“What?”

“Hell. Can’t you see that?”

“No.”

“We are.”

“Oh. Why?”

“Shut up.”

“Ok.”

He stepped away. The floor was cold. No shoes? Guess not. The floor was wet. Water? Water isn’t red. Why was the floor covered in blood? _Ah, there’s my normal thought process. Ok, Let’s see what we have here to work with. Name… Carson. I am Carson._ Carson let his eyes adjust even more to the dim light of the- cell- and took note of what was there. A steel slab that was raised from the floor and bolted to the wall acted as a bed. No blankets or pillows. On the other side was what seemed to be a toilet that was less clean and more rusted over. The stink of the cell itself was overwhelming to his senses and he found himself gagging a little bit. He turned his head back towards the door and caught something shiny glinting out of the corner of his eye. _That’s a nail. You stupid dicks, whoever put me in here._ He laughed sharply to himself and bent over to the edge of where the toilet met the floor and plucked an old bent nail out from under the base. Carson twirled it around his fingers and tucked it into the waistband of his jeans. The cool of it against his skin was slightly shocking to his system, and he sucked in a breath as the point of it dug into his hipbone. Finally looking down at himself he noticed that he was wearing a red shirt with the sleeves ripped off, and dark blue jeans that were just one size too big for him. Granted he wasn’t a small guy, he had a narrower waist than you would expect for someone who was six foot. He made his way, well the three steps it takes, over to the old metal bars and somehow managed to in the one spot that was dripping. His left foot skid on the (what seemed to be) concrete but he caught himself, making sure that the reassuring feel of the nail was still tucked safely into his jeans. He had just begun to look for the door of the cell when a large, heavy piece of wood slammed against the bars, just millimeters away from his fingers. Nobody was attached to the wood as far as he could tell.

“Hey! Watch where you throw that thing.” Carson called out into the empty hallway… the wood piece had vanished into thin air. He looked up and down the aisle-way but there wasn’t even a sound to be heard. So he called out again, putting strain on his voice as he will it louder than he could go. “HEY! Get back here!” The echo of his voice had just faded and he whispered ‘whimp’ to himself and was immediately thrown back against the far wall, held there by an unseen force. A harsh voice filled his ear, hissing with displeasure and growling low.

“You were saying?” The pressure that Carson felt on his chest was enough that he began to struggle to breathe, gasping for breath in short, uneven patterns. His feet barely touched the ground, his toes just scraping against the rough floor beneath him .The back of his head felt like it was pressed flat into the hard wall and strapped down.. he couldn’t even move.

“Who-who are y-you?” He finally choked out. He felt something drip down from one side of his mouth and onto the floor, hearing it’s heavy splat with a sickening realization. That’s blood. He tried to calm himself down, but that was becoming increasingly hard as he lost the ability to breathe the longer he was pressed into the wall. As the words escaped his lips there seemed to be a formation of black mist in front of him, and the smell of rotting flesh rammed it’s way up his nose. He dared not gag as a fully formed figure appeared where the mist had just been. It was a male figure, oddly enough, in a three suit piece suit, with nearly ebony skin- but his eyes glowed yellow in the dim light. A sadistic smile spread across his face, exposing yellowing teeth and blackened gums.

“Tisk tisk,” he clicked his tongue, smile never leaving his face. “You ask too many questions, young one. Have you no respect?” He stood with his arms down to the side, bus Carson could easily see the long nails that inhabited his fingers; they were pointed , like daggers. He raised up one of his clawed hands  and used the dagger on his middle finger to lift up Carson’s chin; bringing his face to eye level- the guy was even taller than he was. “You are new here, so I will give you the benefit of the doubt that you made a mistake by calling out to me.” His hissing voice caused the hair on the back of Carson’s neck to tremble. He took another shaky breath and spat as best he could to the thing in front of him. More blood than spit escaped his mouth and landed square on the other man’s suit coat. _Why was he wearing a suit coat? Not just a coat, but the nice pants and good shoes too. Freak._

“I don’t make mistakes. A-at least not like what y-you think I just did. Don’t Un-underestimate me.” He dished out his own devilish smile and the guy forcing him to the wall with the invisible mojo let his sneet falter and turn into a full on growl.

“Just for that, you won’t be human for much longer. We usually only do this for the good ones and for those who deserve to die, but I guess that it can be used as a punishment too.” The single long nail then carefully forced its way up under his jaw, through his mouth and out, his finger curved inside of Carson’s mandible. He pulled his jaw down so that his mouth was open all the way and then opened his own mouth. Carson stopped trying to remain calm as more of the black mist swirled out from the depths of the other man's throat and force it’s way down his gullet. Spluttering and choking. Carson did his very best to force the stuff out of him, but it wasn’t very effective. You know how he knew? He wasn’t himself anymore. The world that was once bathed in dim red light lit up like a christmas tree… well, a sad christmas tree. The cool concrete walls weren’t gray anymore but actually a pale green color and the floors were in fact brown, but it looked more like old blood than paint. Perfect. But it’s not the only change he noticed. He no longer felt worried for the fact that he couldn’t breathe. His feet touched the ground again and this time when he stood, he stood tall and proud. The man across from his was no longer holding onto him… or to his sanity by the looks of it. He was holding onto his head and mumbling under his breath.

“This will all go away. This will all go away. This will all go away.” Carson’s attitude had changed significantly as well. He looked at the man across from him and simply smiled.

“That looks painful.” Wait, that’s not me. _Why aren’t I helping him?_ “You should get a doctor to see that.” _Stop! You are a good person! Why aren’t you helping him?!_ But he could only smile at the pain that this guy was obviously in; laughing when he started to scream. And just like that Carson imagined himself outside of the cell, laughing at the man trapped inside, and suddenly that’s how he ended up. His body was standing outside of the cell. Intense heat washed over him and his laughing pulled up short when he heard a shuffle to his right. Slowly he turned his head, only the screaming of the man in what used to be his cell filled the greasy air that hung between him and the tall woman, all dressed in white.

“You aren’t supposed to be out of your cage. Did- Lawton took you over didn’t he?” Her big blue eyes glistened in the heavy air. Carson could feel himself nod, and then smile. She nodded as well and lifted her arms to be parallel to the sticky ground, her white dress billowing out behind her on an invisible breeze.

“I don’t remember you. apparently when you change bodies you lose memories. Who are you?” He cocked his head to the side, feigning interest as Carson’s body shifted his weight away.

“Every child tells my tale. The Woman in White. Silly little demon.” _Demon?_

“Ah yes. Now I remember. What are you doing with your arms there?” He nodded slightly to her outstretched appendages. The demon’s voice even shook. The woman only spread her smile wider, far too wide for her narrow and young face.

“Run.” And then she laughed. Long and loud and Carson took off down the corridor, ignoring the slick under his feet. Not knowing for how long that he was running, when he finally reached a small sliver of light seeping in through a small crack in the wall, he flung his fist through it. As his fist sailed through, his body followed and in less time than the blink of an eye. He was no longer in the dimly lit cell block and was… _where am I?_ He was just about to walk forward when he heard something snap behind him. He slowly turned his head and saw the luminescent light coming off of the man. Carson didn’t know who or what this was, but the demon did.

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Irel looked straight at the man before him. He took in every drop of sweat, every deep and shuddering breath that he took, every tooth in that wicked grin. His heart pounded in his ears and his stomach rushed to his throat. And the world around him went quiet. He didn’t even have to guess at what was in front of him- demon. He could tell from the black eyes, the sadistic smile, and the overwhelming stench of rotting flesh that wafted off of his lightly tanned skin. Calming himself down through deep breaths, Irel did his best to remain standing as those onyx eyes scraped over his body.

“I-I am Irel of the Kingdom of God. I have been asked to retrieve an innocent soul from Hell and bring you to my Father for reconciliation of y-your sins.” His voice faltered as the demon took a step towards him… and then another. Long powerful strides carried him effortlessly through the deep old leaves. Irel kept his posture- straight backed and shoulders down, he tried to remain respectful even if he was faced with a demon. Those long legs carried the demon right up to him and began circling. He held his hands clasped behind his back and his head held high- like he was proud to be a demon.

“You think that I am just going to follow you? Is that what you were expecting of me? I’m not that stupid. This meat suit though- landed himself in Hell at just 20 years old.”

“I don’t need the demon. I need the- the meat suit. He is an innocent soul.” The demon made a full circle and stopped in front of him, face to face. Irel held in a quiet gasp as the demon blinked and where the black eyes were, were now replaced with normal looking ones that just so happened to be an almost golden. He remembered a long time ago when another angel had brought a bottle of amber liquid to the Heaven and the sunlight poured through it, igniting its perfect flame… whiskey! His eyes were light sunlight through whiskey. Those eyes paired with dark brown, nearly black hair was one of the most compelling sights that Irel had ever seen. The demon has the audacity to look abashed at that comment.

“Only the boy? You are no fun little angel.” Irel again gasped, but the demon merely rolled his eyes. Don’t look so shocked at that. I can smell the putrid rank of your feathers. But they aren’t there, so they must have been burned and ripped off of your body. Little angel… did you fall from Heaven?” He laughed slowly, like he was savoring the moment, tasting it between his teeth. And that wicked grin spread even wider as he saw that the long face of Irel remained stone still. “You fell from Heaven!” He laughed, deep and heartily. Irel bit his tongue as best he could, but did let a few words hiss out from the corner of his mouth.

“That is no business of yours.”

“Oh, but it is! You see, my position in Hell is to keep the inmates quiet. Make sure that they are behaving. This one,” he gestured proudly to his body, “decided to fight back. So I left my previous meat suit in this one’s cell and am now taking this one out for a joy ride. You see? This is fun.” Irel took a shaky breath and replied.

“No. Possessing an innocent human is not fun. Tell me your name. Your real name. Or let him go and let him tell me his name.”

“First off, how do you know that this piece of flesh is innocent?”

“Innocent until proven guilty.”

“Don’t use that Judge Judy crap on me, angel. And second, you won’t get my name. You can have the meat suit. Enjoy.” The man threw his head back in a screaming like motion and released a black cloud of smoke that snaked it winding tendrils up into the musty air. Irel watched, in slow morton, as the body that the smoke had inhabited fell to his knees, head still back. The solid ‘thunk’ of knees hitting moist soil echoed through the trees that were starting to become misted. And before his shoulders could hit the ground, Irel rushed forward and curled one arm around him, slowing his descent to the cold ground. And just as Irel laid him down the man sucked in a deep breath, coughing and spluttering and thrashing. The moment he got his breath back he whipped his arms around and managed to knock an elbow into the rock hard nose of the angel.

“Are you alright?” Irel held onto his nose, knowing that it wasn’t broken (but just making sure). He reeled away from the thrashing body and stood again, knocking off a few leaves from his robes. The other man eventually calmed down and looked around. Golden eyes met his.

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His eyes looked into spectacularly blue ones on a very tall and white-robed man who was rubbing his nose. _Shit, did I hit him?_

“Sorry man, did I pop you in the nose? Wh-where am I? i don’t recognize this place.” He tore his eyes away from the glowing beauty that was the other man to take in his surroundings. He might have actually started to flirt with him but he was enchanted by the forest that he was obviously in. Fog swirled around the trees like a skirt, its long fingers reaching up to grab onto the lowest branches that it could reach. A thick looking river bubbled by and little pops that escaped seemed to smell like gasoline. He looked up into the branches of a massive tree. He pushed himself off the ground and winced as he noticed his muscles aching with the strain. _What happened?_

“What is your name? The man spoke in a soft voice, but one that was still powerful. He was dressed in white, and had simple leather sandals on his feet. He had beautiful ivory skin that was brushed over with dirt and some mud. His blonde hair was brown on the ends, and his large, expectant eyes made him look kind of like a deer.After fully standing up, he was just a little bit shorter than the other man.

“I’m Carson. Look, I really am sorry about the nose, but, where are we? And, who are you?”

“I am Irel and we are in purgatory.” Carson scoffed at the notion.

“As in _the_ Purgatory? The one from horror stories? Where all monsters go when they die? Why are we here? And what kind of name is Irel? What the-” He stopped abruptly when Irel held up a hand.

“You ask many questions and leave no room for answers. I am Irel, son of God and an angel from the Kingdom of Heaven. I fell from grace and am looking for reconciliation from my Father to be returned to the Kingdom but returning an innocent soul. We are in Purgatory because i was looking for a person to bring back and the demon that was riding you around dropped you off here. Now please, my feet are very tired. I have been walking down here for almost 100 hundred years and I want to bring you back. Will you follow me? You will be forgiven for your sins and you will be welcomed.” He sighed exhaustedly- but Carson believed that was more out of annoyance than actually being tired.

“Heaven? _Angels?_ Then where are your wings?”

“They were burned and then ripped off. I get them back when I return with you.”

“Well- OK then. I don’t like Hell much anyways. Walk on, your Fluffiness.” Carson bent low at his waist and extended one arm out, inviting Irel to walk.

“You are very annoying.” He said as he passed.

“I’m just very bored. Does it smell like burning rubber to you?” He began to follow.

“Purgatory smells like the last bad memory that we have. For me, I smell the burning of my wings. Do you know why you would smell burning rubber?”

“No, I can’t remember. All I know is that I got here very recently and that- demons- are dicks.”

“What that, I can concur.”

“Where are we going anyways”? They had already been walking for a while and considering that he was 6’1, Irel must have been 6’3, they covered ground very quickly. They were following the gasoline smelling river upstream.

“We are going to take a shortcut to get there. We have to find a well.”

“Like- like a wishing well?”

“Yeah, like a wishing well. It should be old and have a little wooden cover on it.” They walked a little farther down until Carson stopped and pointed through a few trees.

“Like that one?” Irel stopped to see where he was pointing and Carson smiled in prize as a huge grin spread across the angels face.

“Exactly like that one. Come one, we need to get there.” His voice lifted with joy and he seemed to be gliding upon the damp ground. Carson knew that his feet were freezing, so Irel’s couldn’t have been much better off… _Unless angels can regulate their body temperature…?_ They got to the rim of the well. It was made of old, round stones that were held together in a circular pattern by black, mud looking stuff. Moss and lichen were weaving their way up the sides of the well and the old wooden roof that protected it all was starting to give way to water damage. They both leaned over the edge of the well to look down below. It was glowing, just faintly, down at the very bottom.

“Now what?”

“Now we jump. You first?”

“Scared angel?”

“You wish, human.”

“That was weak.”

“You hush your face. Jump in.”

“No. You go first.”

“Why would I go first?”

“You brought me here?”

“You found the well.”

“You were cast out of Heaven.”

“You- fine I’ll go first.” Carson grinned at his win and watched as Irel hoisted himself over the slippery ledge. He was now sitting on the edge, breathing deeply. Carson looked over in genuine concern at the fact that Irel’s heavy breathing was nearing to Hyperventilating levels.

“Hey, you alright?” Irel nodded quickly and started to slide his body off of the ledge. But just before he started down to the bright light, Carson fet his wrist being grabbed and suddenly they were tumbling down the well together. When they landed, their legs had entangled and Irel landed right on top of him. They both grunted in pain as they untangled themselves from each other. When they looked up, Irel grinned and Carson stood shell shocked.

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The meadow before them was lush and green and smelled- Heavenly. Gorgeous flowers of all array spread wide before them like a buffet for bees. He recognized a few of them- Plumeria’s Bleeding Hearts, Roses, Lily of the Valley’s, Dahlia’s of all different colors and so many others. But one constant thing to take in was the almost sickeningly sweet smell forcing its way up their noses. Large pine trees stood at the ready, and a glorious stone fountain presented itself from behind a large bush. Together Irel and Carson stood in silence at the beauty around them. Birds of all kinds fluttered around their heads, singing at the top of their lungs. As Irel gazed around them, he noticed Carson out of the corner of his eye. He was leaning his weight forward and his arms were extended from his sides, just slightly, like he was ready to take flight himself and join the birds. He was grinning stupidly and his eyes were wide with excitement. Irel chuckled gently.

“Have you ever seen a garden, Carson?”

“None as beautiful as this. What is this place?” His golden eyes shone bright in the light, so intense after the dimness of Purgatory.

“We are in the Heaven of a botanist who never quite had the perfect garden. So she found one here.”

“A Heaven? I thought it was all the same thing.”

“Well, the angels all share the same Heaven… like, a front office for Heaven. But humans get their own separate ones. They are specific to you. Like Muriel here, it can be a dream that never got accomplished. Or, it can be the greatest memory of your life. Depends on the person.” irel couldn’t stop looking at the man next to him- the joy that inhabited his face. “Come on, we have to get to the next Heaven.”

“Hold on, let me enjoy this a little bit longer.”

“Can’t you remember your own happiness? Just use that. We do need to go.” Irel began walking off, letting Carson smell the flowers. The distance between them quickly grew and Irel turned back quickly when he heard something that shouldn’t be happening. Carson had fallen to the ground and was convulsing, limbs thrashing and chest raising from the ground. His white robes billowed out behind him as he rushed to Carson’s side. But the instant that he laid one hand on the twitching man’s shoulder the convulsions stopped and he laid there, foam in the corners on his mouth. Irel’s eyes grew wide with concern for him.

“Carson? What just happened?” He tried to lean forward to wipe the foam from his mouth but ended up being backhanded by a wayward hand as Carson sat up. “Ouch!” Carson sheepishly turned his head towards Irel.

“Sorry… again… Yeah, that was new.” irel took a step back as Carson hoisted himself off of the ground and back into a standing position. “Let’s get going, shall we? Don’t want that to happen again.” He started walking away from the angel but stopped, planting his feet down solidly, much like the trees in the distance. He called over his shoulder to Irel. “And no, I can’t remember anything apart from a few major life differences. Like the other two times I’ve been in jail, that my favorite movie is shrek, and that one time I made my little sister eat a hot-dog that i found under my bed. But no, I can’t remember anything.” He walked off again, leaving Irel to contemplate what he had just said. Eventually he regained his train of thought and hurried after Carson. He led them to a large rock formation at the edge of the garden where a large stone sat. “That’s a nice boulder.”

“This is is. This is the door that leads right to Heaven.” Irel grabbed onto the boulder and pushed it aside easily, letting white blinding light out from a tunnel.

“You didn’t even get that? Pathetic. Now what, Irel? Do we go in?” Carson peeked inside the tunnel.

“Yes, that is all we have to do now. I went first last time.”

“You pulled me in with you. Let’s just go together. Make it less difficult on both of us.” He leaned farther to the inside of the cave-thing, looking as far past the light that he could. Irel behind him nodded gently.

“I would assume that you are correct in what you think. Come on then. Together.” Irel laid a strong hand on Carson’s back and gently pushed him forward into the light. With the other hand, Carson watched as Irel rolled the stone back into place. The brightness that surrounded them wasn’t blinding anymore and he no longer had to squint to see where he was going. Irel spoke up behind him.

“I have to admit, I really wasn’t expecting to find someone to bring to Heaven at all. There really isn’t really anything in Purgatory except for things that really shouldn’t exist. Thank you for coming with me.” Carson ducked his head in slight embarrassment as they continued down the tunnel. It went on for longer than he originally thought it did.

“Well, anything to get away from demons and that putrid river that stank like gasoline.” They continued walking for a few more minutes before Carson began to grow impatient. “Are you sure that this is the right away.”

“Yes I am, now be quiet.”

“Why?”

“Carson.”

“Sorry.”

“If you say ‘sorry’ one last time, so help me-”

“God?”

“Carson.”

“Fine.” They fell back into companionable silence and just as Carson was about to make another comment about being in the right place, Irel reached one long arm forward and moved aside an iridescent shield of- stuff. And that’s when Carson really went blind.

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He brought his arm up to shield his eyes, not wanting to, but knowing that if he didn’t look away he wouldn’t be able to see anything. It took a long moment before he regained his vision, but when he did, he lost his power of speech. The land before him was more beautiful than anything he could have ever imagined. It was like an oil painting had come to life, complete with the brush strokes.

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Irel breathed in the familiar scent of harmony and peace and gazed around his home land. The grass around him was a deep emerald green that moved on an invisible breeze and there weren’t any other plants other than a walkway comprised entirely of purple ciematis flowers that were at full bloom.  calming scent wafted up from the flowers. Irel smiled as far as he could and walked his eyes up the path all the way to a beautiful archway. It was made of clouds that swirled effortlessly in their glass imprisonment. The archway was gothic style by its rounded triangular top, and the pillars that came down were gloriously pure. Massive golden gates stood underneath the arch and reached nearly twenty feet high. They were pearl-opaque and shimmered lightly. The gates themselves were a giant version of wings that were arched up high and proud and spread out to their fullest extent. Individual feathers had been carved into the material and if a breeze came through just right, the air rushing through the spaces would create a whistling melody of an angel’s song that they sing to newcomer angels. The tips of those wings and the cloud arch touched the sky above them that was like a liquid gold, with fat heavy drops dripping down into a molten gold lake far off in the distance. Silver clouds wafted through the sky. There was no sun as the archway produced most of the light that the Kingdom would ever need. As Irel took in his home with a heart filled with joy, his eyes passed over Carson, who stood silent and unmoving to his right. Much like in the garden behind them, he was taking in everything that he could. His sunlight-through-whiskey eyes shone brightly under the golden sky.

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The colors were overwhelming for his eyes, the smells for his nose; the sound of peace was too much for his ears. He went silent and still and did his very best to take everything.

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Irel began to grow concerned for Carson as he had yet to move from his spot. So carefully, he reached one hand outward, making sure to keep his face far away from the arms that could hit him again. He rested his hand gently on the young man’s shoulder.

“Carson? Are you OK?” But Irel needn’t have worried because the other man snapped out of it fairly quickly.

“Uh, yeah. There is just so much to take in here. Is this really where you live?”

“Behind the gates, yeah. If you have wings you can see a glorious castle raising in the distance. If it’s big from back here, it’s massive up close. The floors are made of diamond and the walls are pure glass embedded with gems and crystals  of the highest beauty of the entire world. Would you like to see it?”

“I thought that only those with wings could see it.”

“Yes, but most angels come here the same way that you did. Innocent souls rescued from the clutches of Hell. There is a possibility that you will someday see it.” Carson looked deep into the blue eyes of his angel and nodded slowly, unsurely.

“Let’s go get me some wings.”Ireel smiled proudly and nodded in return. Then he extended his arm up to the path that led to the gates.

“Let’s go get you some wings.” Carson smiled in return and together the two turned and began the journey to the Pearl Gates. The path was long and tiring but if they stopped now they wouldn’t ever get there. “That’s one of the lesser liked parts of the design plans. Heaven only accepts angels who are willing to walk the entire distance so that they can show God that they have discipline. If they stop or rest at all, the gate won’t open for them, it shows weakness. Since angels are warriors, we can’t be weak.”

“But weren’t you weak? You got kicked out.”

“But that’s only because I was a foolish child when I had my wings ripped off. I was only about 90 years old when I asked a simple question that threw my Father into a fit of rage. Apparently asking why we can’t walk with the humans was deemed a dangerous question. I was sent to Earth so that i could learn that behind humans is not what we want or would expect. And honestly, I don’t want to go back to there. It was dark and drab. Everyone was so harsh and unloving. And it smelled. Really badly.”

“Like burning rubber?”

“Yes, partially. There were some nice places that I visited while working, but none were ever perfect.”

“Probably because  you grew up in a place like this.” Carson motioned to the surrounding land. They were halfway to the gates at this point.

“I suppose that you are correct in that statement.” They continued the rest of the way in an easy silence, neither talking for fear of disturbing the other. When they did eventually reach the gates, Carson couldn’t stop his eyes from wandering to every inch of every feather, to every millimeter of the beautiful gate. Irel looked over to the awestruck human. “Beautiful, right?”

“Gorgeous.” He reached out with one hand to touch the gate, but a hand clamped down on his.

“You are not supposed to touch it yet. Let me ask you a few questions first. Deal?”

“Sure. Shoot.” Irel took a deep breath in.

“Do you believe that if you open those gate, you will be welcomed wholeheartedly into the Kingdom of God?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you understand that if you open those gates and are met with displeasure that you will be sent back to Hell?”

“Seriously?”

“Carson.”

“Yes.”

“Do you realize that you are bleeding quite badly from that cut on your forehead?”

“What?” Carson reached one hand up to his head and brought it down slowly, it was red with blood. His mouth dropped open a little in shock at the sight. At first, Irel had figured that would be a shock to him, but what he didn’t expect was for Carson to drop to the ground again in a convulsing manor. This time though, Irel grabbed onto his arms and pinned the to his body as best he could. Over and over his chest heaved from the ground, head arching back in a disturbing position and foam was flying everywhere.

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He could still see. His eyes were open, but he had no control over his body. _Irel! Help! Somebody!_ Apparently being in Heaven had it’s perks because the ground was soft and relenting to his body shaking and his legs kicking. As he looked around, desperate for help, his eyes landed on the soft blue hue of Irel’s. _Thank you._ He tried to communicate , but all that came out was spit and foam. Just as quickly as it had started, he became still. no longer fighting for dominance for his body. Carson was helped into a sitting position by a very concerned looking angel. Carson wiped away at his mouth.

“If I get in there… will these stop? He dared not stand up for fear of toppling over again.

“I don’t know Carson. I really don’t, but i wish i did because seeing you like that is hard. I don’t like the way your body thrashes around.”

“me neither. But I need to get inside of there. Just to see if I even can-” He began choking, grabbing at his throat, he doubled over into the grass. He retched and hacked but nothing came out. Not even a voice.

“Carson?” Irel looked on in horror as Carson tried everything he could to vomit out wasever was lodged in his gullet. But nothing worked. He continued to cough and ram his fists into his diaphragm, hoping, praying, that something would happen to make it all stop. Irel stood back and watched the scene with scared eyes. “Carson, I am not allowed to touch the gate. It has to be you. Please-” he couldn’t help that his voice wobbled. Even Carson noticed that through his somewhat state of dying. “Please, you have to do this. If I touch it… I’ll never get my wings back.” He bent over and grabbed the man who was coughing under the armpits, hoisting him up. Carson, please!” As he was lifted to his feet, the odd feeling began to lessen in his throat, and his coughing calmed down. But he still couldn’t speak. All that came out was an odd wheezing and hissing noise. With one arm still around the angel, Carson nodded and tried to move towards the gate. He coughed again. Step. Cough. Step. Cough. They were within touching distance. Carson held out his free hand and stopped millimeters away. Just before touching it he looked straight into the calm eyes of his angel. He pushed open the door and his world went white. No angel. No gate. No golden sky.

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White fluorescent lights blinked lazily overhead, their buzzing loud in comparison to the silence that surrounded him elsewhere. He moved only his eyes to take in the surrounding scenery. To his right was a vase of flowers of beautiful purple that smelled sweet- like honey. To his left was a tall man in a white lab coat scribbling on a clipboard. His face was drenched in shadows but Carson could tell when he looked up. A familiar voice greeted him as the face came into focus.

“Hey there. I’m doctor Irel. Don’t try to speak, you have a breathing tube in. But I suppose that we can take that out now, can’t we?” That perfect white smile came close to his face. Carson tried to reel away but he was trapped by a solid tube that was in his mouth. It ran down his throat and he could feel it pulsing cool air into his lungs. “It’s OK. I am going to pull this out of your mouth. I want you to stay relaxed for me, OK?” Carson held still, even if he was still pulling a bit on the apparatus that was visible from the corner of his eyes. Irel- _Doctor_ Irel bent in close and removed some tape from the side of his face before taking a firm grasp on the plastic tube and pulling it up and out. Carson coughed at it came out. Irel- _Doctor_ Irel smiled at that. “Good job. Do you know where you are?” He took a penlight out from his chest pocket on his coat and shined it quickly into Carson’s eyes. He tried to speak, but it voice came out even raspier than usual.

“Carson Edwards, 22 years old. I am guessing that I am in a hospital considering that you pulled a ventilator out from my lungs.” He tried to squirm again, but this time was caught on something else. He lifted his head to look down and noticed that his entire right leg, from ankle to mid-thigh, was coated in a heavy plaster cast. “Great.”

“Yes, this is great. You still have both legs. You know your name and age. Do you know why you’re in here?”

“I am going to say it’s not because you pulled me out of Purgatory to bring me to Heaven and to the white light… that was a dream… Broken leg, a ventilator means chest damage; the blood bags on my right are nearly empty… I got run over by something.” Doctor Irel looked impressed at his sleuthing.

“Very good. Eyewitnesses told us that you were on a motorcycle-”

“My silver Triumph Thunderbird Storm with a 1699cc engine.I rebuilt it for a customer a little while back but they ended up not liking it so I took it from them. I crashed my Triumph?”

“Unfortunately, yes. But you were chasing after a large black pickup truck that was going almost 95 down the highway.”

“My dad. It would have been my dad.”

“Son, your dad smashed into the side of a semi, and you ran into the bed of his truck. Several people said that you were right alongside him for a stretch of time, but you pulled back due to something in the road. That’s when you hit him. Carson, I am so sorry but he didn’t-”

“There was a little old lady in a blue Honda Civic on the side of the road. Her lights were flashing and a younger guy had just pulled over to help her out. I wasn’t going to hit them.” He looked into the eyes of Doctor Irel as he spoke, not even flinching.

“You do realize what I just told you right? Your dad-”

“Is dead. Good for him. He was probably drunk anyways. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to go chasing after him. But I usually siphon the gas out of his truck once he starts drinking so that if he does find where I hid the keys then he won’t get very far. But I was at a party. I was flirting. And I saw his truck. So I followed him. He’s dead. That means that I have custody of Jennifer until she turns 18, which is in two months.” He let the doctor to ponder what he had just said and closed his eyes, returning to the world of green grass, purple flowers, and a liquid gold sky. And he realized, as his eyes drifted closed, why Purgatory smelled like burning rubber and gasoline.


End file.
